Motegi tyre performance creates intrigue for Rossi

Fast on Michelin rubber in Motegi last year, Valentino Rossi is eager to see how his
Bridgestone tyres fare at the Japanese track.

Riding in a home Grand Prix for tyre manufacturer Bridgestone for the first time, MotoGP title favourite Valentino Rossi says that he is interested to see how former associates Michelin perform at the A-Style Grand Prix of Japan. The Italian could clinch his first MotoGP World Championship with Bridgestone rubber this weekend.

`We will have to see about the performance between Bridgestone and Michelin,´ said Rossi in the pre-event press conference at Twin Ring Motegi. `This circuit has always been a great one for Bridgestone in the past, but last year myself and Dani Pedrosa were a bit faster than the Bridgestone riders.´

Both Rossi and Pedrosa are now on Bridgestone rubber for the return to the scene of the manufacturer´s first MotoGP title, with Rossi able to make it two if he places third or higher. The Fiat Yamaha rider has just one victory to his name at Motegi in the premier class, but is confident ahead of the Sunday race.

`I have had a lot of podiums here, but not so many victories. Last year I was unlucky, because in the dry I was fast but I had problems when it rained a lot on Sunday. We will see,´ said Rossi, who also faced questions in a special Bridgestone `talk show´, held in Roppongi on Wednesday and separated into two parts: one in which the 29 year-old and other Bridgestone riders were put on the spot by journalists, and another for 200 fashion and motorsport bloggers.

Tyres were a big focus of last year´s A-Style Grand Prix of Japan, with the proposal to move to a control tyre made to the Grand Prix Commission after discussions in Motegi.